Just who is Microsoft's Satya Nadella?

Feb. 4, 2014
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Satya Nadella. / Brian Smale

by Scott Martin, USA TODAY

by Scott Martin, USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO - Microsoft's search for the heir to CEO Steve Ballmer, a process that dragged for months and touched off the biggest parlor game in tech of Name That CEO, has finally come to and end with an insider selection.

The software behemoth tapped Satya Nadella as CEO, elevated John Thompson to chairman and shifted Bill Gates into a role as technology adviser.

But who is incoming-Microsoft chief Nadella?

Microsoft's veteran executive - he's been with the software giant for more than two decades - had been running its enterprise and cloud businesses. The native of Hyderabad, India's tech center dubbed "Cyberabad," is said to be an affable team builder with consensus inside Microsoft for the top spot.

"His vision for how technology will be used and experienced around the world is exactly what Microsoft needs as the company enters its next chapter of expanded product innovation and growth," Gates said in a statement.

In contrast to Ballmer, known as a rowdy basketball fan and pickup game player with aggressive elbows, Nadella is a bookish and soft-spoken type, with hobbies of cricket and poetry.

Nadella speaks of the "humbling" and "incredible honor" to take the lead at Microsoft along with a passion to continue to educate himself through classes and books.

"I've been fortunate to work closely with both Bill and Steve in my different roles at Microsoft, and as I step in as CEO, I've asked Bill to devote additional time to the company, focused on technology and products," Nadella said in an e-mail memo to employees on his first day as CEO.

Nadella, 46, drove the server and tools business growth until 2013 and led as onetime Bing boss. Analysts say his engineering strength bodes well inside Microsoft.

"He's well-respected and thought of as a strong leader - I don't know if he's thought of as visionary," says reDesign analyst Rakesh Agrawal, a former Microsoft employee.

Microsoft's new CEO gave personal details in his memo to offer employees an idea who he is and what he stands for.

"I've been married for 22 years and we have 3 kids. And like anyone else, a lot of what I do and how I think has been shaped by my family and my overall life experiences. Many who know me say I am also defined by my curiosity and thirst for learning. I buy more books than I can finish. I sign up for more online courses than I can complete. I fundamentally believe that if you are not learning new things, you stop doing great and useful things. So family, curiosity and hunger for knowledge all define me," he wrote.

Dan Ives, tech industry analyst at FBR Capital Markets, says shareholders who preferred fresh blood will be disappointed. "The main issue around Microsoft is its need for innovation and a set of fresh new strategies to drive the next leg of growth," Ives says.

Still, he's gained a lot of clout inside the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant for his part in Microsoft's move to the cloud.

"He's recognized for the transition to the cloud," says IDC analyst Al Hilwa. "He's been spearheading this transition to the cloud, which is one of the things that's going right for the company. They have been going toe-to-toe with Amazon on features and price - he gets a lot of respect for that."

Nadella should get the respect and intellectual buy-in from longtime employees on day one, says Wes Miller, analyst at independent research firm Directions on Microsoft.

"The time frame required for an external hire to come on-line and really be effective is incredibly lengthy," Miller says. "Microsoft needs leadership that can hit the ground running, rather than hiring someone who has to make brute force guesses to appease the critics outside of Microsoft."

But can he redirect Microsoft to a good position in mobile to gain favor among consumers? IDC's Hilwa says he's known as a transformative thinker who has so far injected agility into the lumbering software maker.

"What's going to define Microsoft going forward is a mobile-first, cloud-first world. ... The question for us is how do we thrive in that world - what new innovation can we bring?" Nadella said in a company webcast Monday.